#27 - Must Be True, Except

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (D)

Answer choice (D) is never mentioned in the passage. The author discusses high lipid levels as being dangerous and a cause of premature heart disease, but never states that high lipid levels cause increased endothelial cell reactivity or increased platelet adhesiveness (these are mentioned separately).

[cmorris32]

Hi PowerScore!

I was stuck between answer choice B and D and chose B. I chose B because it says that the body's ability to process the lipids compromised by alcohol in the bloodstream, but I thought "presence of alcohol" was too vague, since we learn from the passage that moderate wine consumption has healthful effects. In addition, I decided against D because in the third paragraph, the author states that endothelial cell reactivity is a contributing factor to lipid processing.

Can you please tell me where I went wrong in my reasoning, or where I misunderstood the passage?

Thank you!
Caroline

[Adam Tyson]

Hey Caroline! In the third paragraph, the author says that endothelial cell reactivity is linked to premature heart disease, but says nothing about it being caused by, or even remotely related to, lipids or lipid processing. Read it again carefully and you'll see no such link, which is why answer D is the correct answer.

Meanwhile, the second paragraph makes clear that alcohol absolutely has negative effects on the body's ability to process lipids, and that includes the alcohol in wine. The alcohol is still a problem, although with wine it is LESS of a problem because the alcohol is absorbed more slowly. It's not that wine has no bad effect, but that wine has some good effects that may counteract the bad ones, or at least reduce them. "Compromised" just means weakened, not destroyed, and alcohol has been conclusively shown (no dispute from the author on this point) to have that effect.

I hope that helps!